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Halloween is a 4-day holiday

Halloween may be Monday, but plenty of scares, tricks and treats will be around on the days leading up to it.

Mark Brooky

Oct 27, 2011

Ferrysburg will have not one but two Halloween-related events on Friday night. Downtown Grand Haven will be filled with zombies late Saturday afternoon. And a ghostly visitor will provide a lecture at a South Haven maritime museum on Sunday. The annual Halloween carnival will also be held in Crockery Township.
“Official” trick-or-treating takes place Monday. Both downtown Grand Haven and downtown Spring Lake merchants will be handing out candy to children between 4 and 6 that afternoon. Washington Avenue, between Harbor Drive and Third Street, will be blocked to vehicular traffic during that time to provide a safer environment for families.

The official hours for residential door-to-door trick-or-treating in Tri-Cities-area communities is 6-8 p.m. Monday.

Here’s some more Halloween-related events happening in the area over the next few days:

Walden Green Montessori, 17339 Roosevelt Road, will be holding its second Family Fun Night from 5:30-8 p.m. Friday. The purpose of Family Fun Night “is to provide a safe, fun and affordable evening that the entire family can enjoy together,” according to school officials. The free event will include a “Fall Festival” theme and guests are encouraged to wear Halloween costumes. There will be carnival games, a spooky haunted house, face-painting, a bouncy house, and arts and crafts available for all ages. Walking tacos, drinks and snacks will be available for purchase to help raise money for the school; and there will also be donation baskets available to help support the Walden Green Middle School Immersion Program. For more information, call 842-4523.

The annual Monster’s Ball is 6-8 p.m. Friday at Ferrysburg City Hall, 17290 Roosevelt Road. Admission is free; children under age 10 must be accompanied by an adult. Costumes are required. Costume judging will be by age group: 0-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, 10-12, 13-17 and 18 and up. Participants can learn to do the dances like “The Monster Mash” and refreshments will be served.

The Tri-Cities Historical Museum will become a “haunted museum” from 2-4 p.m. Saturday. The staff is transforming the museum, 200 Washington Ave. in downtown Grand Haven, into a haunting experience for area children and families. You just might meet some spooky characters and experience some not-so-pleasant things. For more information, call 842-0700.

The Tri-Cities Historical Museum and Central Park Players are teaming up for a “Zombie Walk” later Saturday afternoon. It will start shortly after 4 p.m. at the museum’s Akeley location, 200 Washington Ave. It will follow a pre-determined route down Washington to Seventh Street, head west on Columbus Avenue to Harbor Drive, and then travel east on Washington back to the museum. Those planning to attend are invited to dress as zombies. Participation is free, but zombies and watchers are asked to bring a food pantry donation that will be given to Love INC. For more information, call the museum at 842-0700.

The Crockery Children’s Annual Halloween Carnival will be held 6-8 p.m. Saturday at Crockery Township Hall in Nunica. The event is for children ages 1-12. Admission is two bags of wrapped candy per family. There will be games, prizes and refreshments. Donations of cakes and cupcakes are needed for the cake walk. The event is sponsored by the Crockery Citizens Committee.

The Michigan Maritime Museum Winter Lecture Series will be kicked off with a visit from “Capt. Donahue” and tales of shipwreck ghosts of the past, from 2-4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. The museum is at 260 Dyckman Ave. in South Haven. For more information, visit www.michiganmaritmemuseum.org.

The Hope College Wind Ensemble will present its third annual Halloween Concert at 5 p.m. Monday. It will be held in Dimnent Memorial Chapel, 277 College Ave. in Holland, and admission is free. The ensemble will be playing a variety of pieces — including Modest Mussorgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain,” Stephen McNeff’s “Ghosts,” movie soundtrack selections from “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Star Trek,” and Eric Whitacre’s “Godzilla Eats Las Vegas.” “The concert will feature a variety of music for all ages,” said Gabe Southard, director of the Wind Ensemble and an assistant professor of music at Hope. “People are encouraged to come in costume. There will be an instrumental petting zoo for younger students interested in trying instruments after the performance.”

Hope College will also host a “Safe Halloween” for children, featuring carnival games and trick-or-treating in the Maas Center, 264 Columbia Ave. in Holland, from 6-8 p.m. Monday. Children age 12 and under from the community are invited to the free event. Children must be accompanied by an adult, and are asked to wear a costume.

A Grand Haven dental office will be conducting its fourth annual campaign to collect candy from children, offering them $1 per pound, then sending the treats to American troops overseas for Operation Gratitude. Unopened candy can be dropped off at the office of Dr. Darren Riopelle, 1203 S. Beechtree St., from noon to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2.

Several local schools — Lakeshore Middle, White Pines Middle, Griffin Elementary, Peach Plains Elementary and Rosy Mound Elementary — are also participating in a community challenge as part of the dentist’s program. Instead of earning $1 per pound, the schools have chosen to compete to donate the most candy. Collection boxes will be placed directly in each school for student donations, and Riopelle’s office will donate $2,000 to the top collecting school, $1,000 for second place and $750 for third place. The schools have each individually chosen what their winning funds would go toward — such as outdoor learning centers, playground equipment or cafeteria microwaves.

“Kids can still have fun trick-or-treating, but doing away with excess sweets altogether really gives your body a healthy boost,” Riopelle said. “Plus, children enjoy doing something to support the troops. Even if it’s just a handful of sweet and delicious remembrances of home, the reports from the field confirm that troop morale is boosted.”